Pop star sells mansion for €2.5m after divorce

Ronan Keating has sold the family home he shared with his wife Yvonne and their three children, for around €2.5 million. The house in Malahide, County Dublin, had barely been on the market for a fortnight before being snapped up. So what will the buyers be getting?

And how common is it for divorce to spark a sale like this?

The house went on the market for €2.45 million two weeks ago. It's a relatively new house, and is part of a purpose-built millionaire's estate. It has become a bit of a celebrity hotspot and according to the Irish Times, is also home to Westlife's Nicky Byrne and footballer Robby Keane.

The Keatings were among the first buyers when they bought a six-bedroom show home in 2000. However, they traded it in for a larger property on the estate in 2010 - build to Yvonne's exact specifications.

The house

The property doesn't have much pop glitz, and is is instead largely acres of dark wood and neutral tones - with the odd statement wall throw in for good measure.

There are one or two millionaire trappings, including a garden room with folding doors which open it into the garden. There are also six double bedrooms - one of which has been converted into a gym, a heated kennel in the garden, and perhaps most unusually the bath and sinks are glass-sided.

The couple split shortly after moving in, and Yvonne and her children remained in the home. The Daily Mirror reported the former model as saying she was ready for a new start, but will stay in the area.

Take a look around inside Ronan Keating's former home:

Inside Ronan and Yvonne Keating's Malahide mansion

Divorces and sales

They are not the only couple to sell the marital home after divorce. Last month, Khloe Kardashian and Lamar put their $4 million California home on the market less than a month after filing for divorce on the grounds of irreconcilable differences. This wasn't court ordered - they were both just ready to move on.

David Arquette and Courteney Cox recently put their stunning Beverley Hills mansion on the market for $19.5 million - five months after finalising their divorce.

Robin Williams says he has put his $35 million Napa ranch up for sale because with two divorces behind him he can no longer afford to keep it.

Katy Perry, meanwhile, bought $6.5 million Hollywood home for herself and Russell Brand as their marriage floundered in 2011. In the end no-one ever moved in and at the end of last year she sold it - reportedly losing $1 million in the sale.